About Covid-19
U.S. preparing for 1-year COVID-19 booster shots; Pfizer chief sees need: “The United States is preparing for the possibility that a booster shot will be needed between nine to 12 months after people are initially vaccinated against COVID-19, a White House official said on Thursday.
While the duration of immunity after vaccination is being studied, booster vaccines could be needed, David Kessler, chief science officer for President Joe Biden's COVID-19 response task force told a congressional committee meeting.”
Up to 10% of young adults who recover from COVID-19 at risk for reinfection: “About 10% of 18- to 20-year-olds included in the analysis developed a case of the virus despite being infected earlier in the pandemic, the data showed.”
CureVac preps its COVID-19 shot for deployment as J&J, AZ holdups slow Europe's rollout: “CureVac, which has started a rolling review process for its two-dose vaccine with the European Medicines Agency, plans to release late-stage trial results in the coming weeks, CEO Franz-Werner Haas said on a call with analysts Thursday. Depending on the results, the company expects that EU authorization for its shot, CVnCoV, could come in the beginning of June…”
The dogtor is in: Study finds dogs can sniff out COVID-19 with 96% accuracy: The headline is the story.
Web-based calculator for individual Covid-19 mortality risk: Enter your info to get an estimate.
U.S. to spend $1.7 billion on fighting variants: ”The Biden administration announced Friday it is allocating $1.7 billion to fight coronavirus variants, as the virus continues to mutate into more deadly and infectious forms.
The spending is aimed at improving the detection, monitoring and mitigation of the variants, as the original strain of the novel coronavirus now makes up only about half of all cases in the country. The White House said a central goal of the effort will be increasing the country’s capabilities for genomic sequencing to better understand and track mutations.”
About the public’s health
The Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Health Equity and Their Root Causes: A nice overview of the issue and insurance recommendations from AHIP.
About health insurance
A Public Option for Health Insurance in the Nongroup Marketplaces: Key Design Considerations and Implications: A good overview of questions and possible answers by the CBO.
3 takeaways from Brooks-LaSure's confirmation hearing to become administrator of CMS: The three categories were: Making telehealth flexibility permanent; Improving dual-eligible care coordination; and Flexibility and certainty for states applying for waivers.
No opposition is expected to her confirmation.
Employers Must Find, Tell Laid-Off Workers of Health Subsidies: “Employers have little time to waste in identifying and notifying laid-off employees who qualify for free health-care coverage under the American Rescue Plan signed into law last month by President Joe Biden.
The law provides fully subsidized coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) from April 1 through Sept. 30 for employees who were involuntarily laid off or lost their job-based health plans due to reduced hours during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
About pharma
FDA Approves Genentech’s Xolair for Self-Injection Across Indications: “The agency approved the company’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA), allowing the self-injected product to be used for treating moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma, chronic idiopathic urticaria and nasal polyps. The drug works by targeting and blocking the antibody immunoglobulin E.
Patients must have ‘no prior history of anaphylaxis and be closely observed by a healthcare provider for at least three injections with no hypersensitivity,’ Genentech said.”
Because of its cost, this drug has been on many prior-authorization lists. With a change to self-administration, it will probably move from the medical to the pharmacy benefit and be subject to new reviews.
Biden administration poised to change Trump restrictions on fetal tissue research: The announcement is expected today, but details are not yet out.
Global shortage of innovative antibiotics fuels emergence and spread of drug-resistance: “The world is still failing to develop desperately needed antibacterial treatments, despite growing awareness of the urgent threat of antibiotic resistance, according to report by the World Health Organization. WHO reveals that none of the 43 antibiotics that are currently in clinical development sufficiently address the problem of drug resistance in the world’s most dangerous bacteria.”
About healthcare IT
Roche, Biocorp begin French rollout of add-on device connecting insulin pens to smartphone apps: “The French device maker’s smart sensor connects to most disposable insulin injection pens to collect data about each injection. Mallya automatically transmits that data to Roche’s Gluci-Chek smartphone app over Bluetooth. The dosage, insulin type, date and time information can then be logged and shared with healthcare providers via the Roche Diabetes Care Platform.
The sensor collects data with at least 99% accuracy, according to Biocorp, and it has received a CE mark for distribution in Europe. It lasts about two years and can be recharged through a USB port.”
TELEHEALTH IMPACT: PATIENT SURVEY ANALYSIS: “The patient survey was drafted by the COVID-19 Telehealth Impact Study Work Group” to answer these questions:
“How well did telehealth serve the clinical needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic?
For what reasons did patients seek care through telehealth?
What were the strengths and weaknesses of telehealth related to quality of care?
What are patients’ expectations for the use of telehealth after the pandemic?”
The report has helpful graphics to answer those questions by age, insurance, rurality and “all.”
In a sharp rebuke, health officials toss Trump-era proposal to exempt medical AI tools from review: “In a searing rebuke, the Biden administration is formally withdrawing a last-minute proposal by the Trump administration to exempt a wide swath of medical devices and artificial intelligence tools from regulatory review.
Officials with Biden’s Health and Human Services Department and the federal Food and Drug Administration posted a document on the federal register indicating that they will not proceed with the proposed exemptions.”
FCC will begin accepting applications for its $250M COVID-19 telehealth program starting April 29: “The Federal Communications Commission has set a date for healthcare providers to submit applications for the second round of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which will distribute nearly $250 million to support telehealth services.
The window opens at noon on April 29 and will last one week until May 6, 2021, according to the FCC. Interested providers will be able to submit their applications through a dedicated portal to be made available on the agency’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program webpage.”
RCM vendor data breach affects 136,000: 5 hospitals, health systems involved: “An investigation concluded that a former employee saved PHI to personal folders and uploaded the files to a public website.
There are at least five health systems and hospitals affected by the breach. HHS' data breach portal reported 135,908 individuals have been affected.”
About healthcare professionals
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2021: The Recovery Begins: Read the report for a full analysis. At the top is plastic surgery. At the bottom is pediatrics.
Optum on track to exceed physician hiring goal, CEO says: “The company announced plans to add 10,000 physicians in 2021 earlier this year, and Wyatt Decker, CEO of OptumHealth, said Optum is on track to exceed that number. Optum now has 56,000 affiliated, contracted and employed physicians.”